Current Events Books

This book has changed the way I looked at the issues of development, modernisation & morals. An amazing read, beautifully written and with great insights.

I have just returned from a trip to Ladakh and I could really relate to what Ms.Norberg talks about in the book.

Just a couple of side issues. It'd be good to know what exactly went wrong in Ladakh. Here are a people who for 2000 years had lived successfully by the rules of Buddhism. How & why did Buddhism fail these people in the face of global/western economic & cultural imperialism? Does the blame lie with Buddhism- it being too 'compassionate' and allowing a religion? Does the blame lie with the Ladakhis who probably were not as sincere Buddhists as they are made out to be?

After all if they really were such devout Buddhists, how come they fell to the greed that capitalism breeds?

Anyway, these are issues which could have been addressed in the book. Regardless, the book is excellent! A must read.

How does life in a non-industrial society compare to life in our own? In which society are people happier? If life in non-industrial societies compares favorably to life in our own, then why are the barrios of the third world filling up with migrants from remote villages? This book provides surprising insights into these questions. It also provokes reflections on our own society and its influence on the rest of the world. After reading a used copy I picked up for free, I bought seven copies of this book for friends and family!

Rarely have I felt more dispair about the direction of what we know as civilization as I felt halfway through this book. The Ladakh people are described as happy, healthy, and self-reliant. Suddenly, the "real world" happens to them, and they come to see themselves as poor, when before they had no need of money.

The authors do a nice job of weaving a story of hope at the end but I have concern for the future of these people. It helps me understand the decision the government of Bhutan has made to isolate themselves from western-style civilization.

After reading this book, I suddenly realized the root problem of Western Civilization: We have no culture. Where there was once culture, we now have an expanding economic order threatening all life on the planet. Through its mechanism of growth and expansion, the global economy is conquering and converting life's diversity into an ecological and social monoculture of cash crops, Levis, soda pop and movie theatres. Perhaps moonscape would be a better word. Of course, it doesn't have to be this way. Our fast-paced, increasingly technological, capital-intensive, fossil fuel-centered, centralized, highly specialized, travel and commercial-oriented, often stressful society is by no means the end-all-be-all of human history. Murder, child abuse, drug abuse, theft, poverty, hunger, and every other problem that plagues the West are not products of human nature. The pathology of civilization is not natural or inevitable, and the Ladakhi are proof of this. Read this book and rediscover ancient, profound, life-affirmating alternatives to the modern humdrum. Discover another way of living, thinking and feeling. Important, necessary, engaging and masterfully written - this book was a treasure to read. Indeed, it was an awaking.

A MUST READ

The first half of *Ancient Futures* will delight and amaze you; the second half will break your heart.

In the 1970s, the Ladakhis of Little Tibet were a happy people. They had a sustainable traditional economy based on trade and cooperation - not money. One person's gain was not another person's loss. There was plenty of leisure, no hunger or poverty, very little sickness or disease, everyone was valued, there was no pollution and nothing was wasted. They got along fine with their Muslim neighbors and they kept their population stable through marriage customs based on land use. Almost every family had a celibate monk or nun. Buddhist monasteries and people had a mutually beneficial economic, social and spiritual relationship. Ladakhis are a naturally contemplative people with a great deal of spiritual awareness. "Schon chan" (one who angers easily) is about the only insult in the Ladakhi lnaguage. "Lack of pride is a virtue, for pride, born of ego, has nothing to do with self-respect among these Buddhist people." The author says that it took her two years of living among them to realize that the people were genuinely and joyfully HAPPY. Then the world beat a path to their door and all that changed - in fewer than two decades.

It's like a little piece of cultural time-lapse photography. What took western culture more than four centuries to do to the Native-Americans took only twenty years here. Ladakh has become a cautionary tale and a monument to western greed and stupidity.

Now there is poverty and unemployment, stress-related disease, women are devalued, the people are ashamed of their "backward" culture, there is little leisure but a great deal of pollution and waste as well as dispute between Muslims and Buddhists and the population had increased markedly. ("Interestingly, a number of Ladakhis have linked the rise of birth rates to the advent of modern democracy. "Power is a question of votes" is a current slogan, meaning that, in the modern sector, the larger your group, the greater your access to power. Competition for jobs and political representation within the new centralized structures is increasingly dividing Ladakhis.")

Chiildren are trained to become specialists in a technological rather than an ecological society. They no longer have time to learn the superb survival techniques of their families. Western culture is creating artificial scarsity and inducing competition.

Now I understand the mechanism better. A culture that has a heavily subsidized infrastructure invades a traditional self-sustaining culture and creates artificial "needs." So they go to the city to earn money which they never needed before, leaving their farms and women, who are immediately devalued because they're not wage earners. The people are no longer planting, irrigating, spinning wool, gathering seeds, harvesting, playing music and singing and telling stories, having seasonal parties, marriage parties or funeral watches - together.

Time has become a commodity. It has become uneconomical to grow one's own food, make one's own clothes and build one's own house. You have to pay your neighbors for the work that the whole community used to do for free.

The men are in the cities earning money and the women are producing tourist commodities with the wool they used to spin for their own use and the food they used to grow for their own families. Now they grow cash crops for strangers so they can make enough money to buy polyester clothes and walkmans and jeans for their kids and food grown hundreds of miles away and fuel trucked in from afar.

The Yak and the Dzo, uniquely suited for high altitudes of Ladakh gave rich milk but not as much as western cattle. So what did the conquering culture do? They imported cattle that can't make it at such altitudes, so more land has to be relegated to planting crops to feed the cattle, thereby upsetting the balance. And they call this progress.

Why can't we just leave people alone - especially when they're doing FINE without us?

"When one-third of the world's population consumes two-thirds of the world's resources," says Norberg-Hodge, "and then in effect turns around and tells the others to do as they do, it is little short of a hoax. Development is all too often a euphemism for exploitation, a new colonialism."

All this would be a dismal tragedy comparable to Columbus's complete genocide of the Tainos if not for a "counter development" movement generated in part by this author. Since the Ladakhis can't go back, they can at least go forward. Instead of importing expensive fossil fuels (previously they had used yak dung and kept warm) they can have solar houses and greenhouses, which have worked very well and given them one benefit that they have previously not had. That's something. Information is another plus. The people are being made aware that westerners pay more for whole grains, organic vegetables, pure water, natural fibers, and natural building materials - things these people have had for a thousand years without money. This is something so-called third-world people are generally not told about.

Once in a while a book comes along that changes one's perspective forever. *Ancient Futures* is such a book. I haven't been the same since.

One of the reviewers on this site said he ended up buy copies for his friends. So have I. This book is a must-read for every person who is concerned about the preservation of our planet and our species.

pamhan99@aol.com

If 10 stars were available, that's what I would rate this book. The history of how we got into our current mess and what Progressives can do NOW to turn it around is communicated clearly, rationally, and passionately while remaining a highly interesting read. Having read dozens and dozens of related books over the past 3 or 4 years, this one may well be the most effective call to action of all. I was so motivated and inspired by it that I bought 12 more copies to send to friends and relatives. Don't even consider skipping this one...it's a Must Read treasure!

Ever wonder how Republicans manage to capture middle and working class votes while serving the interests of the wealthy? How they've managed to win the presidency and both houses of Congress despite disastrous economic, environmental and international policies? What it is about their communication style that makes it so convincing and effective?

Wonder no more. Paul Waldman has studied the masters and returned with a brilliant and entertaining analysis of their technique, along with a strategic plan for beating them at their own game.

This book is genius--great fun to read and filled with aha! moments. If you'd like a manual in the martial arts of political communication so that you can help progressives become winners, then this is a must-read.

I bought this book together with "The Good Fight" by Peter Beinart. While both books have their utility, neither is as good as Joe Klein in "Politics Lost." Waldman gets five stars to Beinart's four mostly because he is much more readable, has many useful tables including an analysis of the states where extremist Republicans as well as extremist Democrats are weak, and his book is generally focused on the left of center middle and the caring citizen as opposed to policy wonks that Beinart addresses in his book.

Page 111 is a very fine diagram of the issue columns that the Democratic Party simply does not address responsibly nor--a theme throughout the book--courageously. Over-all the book does a very fine job of defining the distinctions between conservatives and progressives, as well as the distinctions between what conservatives stand for and what they say, and what progressives stand for and do not say.

The author spends most of his time comparing conservatives to progressives (code for left of center liberals) which is something of a pity because he appears to have a very well developed sense of the issues and what the center and left-center can and should stand for.

There are two bottom lines in this book, and both of them make eminent sense to me:

1) Don't bring a knife to a gun-fight. The author points out in detail how inept and weak and unfocused the Democrats are at every stage of the political game beginning with high school and collage political clubs.

2) Stand for the public, for the individual taxpayer, for the blue-collar worker, the working poor, the lower middle class. The author stresses that this is a fight between those who respresent special interests and believe the government role is to liberate the marketplace (code for allow the looting of the Commonwealth) and those who should be representing the masses of individual workers and taxpayers.

The author takes a long view and believes that it will take a great deal of time to recover from the total abdication to the extremist Republicans. While this nice in principle, the book does not focus as well on what it will take to win over-whelmingly; for that we recommend Joe Klein's "Politics Lost." On the issues, Matthew Miller's "The Two-Percent Solution."

On a personal note, I would add that the author's focus on "Being Right is Not Enough" is perfectly consistent with my own view that "Vote Democratic Is Not Enough." Rove and Cheney have demonstrated, twice, that they can steal Presidential elections that are close--through Florida in 2000, through Ohio is 2004. Even if every liberal-progressive adopted the ideas in this book, they would not be enough. We need a multi-party focus on electoral reform and crushing the extremist Republican thieves (I am a moderate Republican), crushing the special interests, and restoring the Republic to the public---a Republic of, by, and for the People, not Corporations.

With wit and intelligence, Paul Waldman makes a compelling case for a progressive vision. While he examines and learns from conservative successes, what he is most interested in is what will energize a progressive movement. He admirably stresses the importance of a progressive agenda, as well as a narrative for progressives. He looks at the importance of both the short and the long term, and why progressives must have both. He is also very skilled at performing a kind of ideological ju-jitsu, in which he turns apparent Republican strengths into weakenesses that can be effectively utilized by progressives who that are both wiley and principled. On a couple of instances of this I am not wholly convinced, but I would nevertheless highly recommend this book to all progressives.

In 2004 a President who lied to justify an unpopular war and had the worst jobs record since the Depression still managed to win. The Republicans control all three branches of government and a majority of governorships and state legislatures. The national debate has shifted from real problems to distractions like gay marriage, partial-birth abortion, and flag-burning. Waldman believes this all adds up to a need for progressives to change.

Waldman believes progressives should create a single movement (not remain a collection of interest groups) devoted to fighting conservatism and advancing a progressive view. Ask an ordinary person what conservatives stand for and he'll likely respond with four powerful, easily understood ideas - low taxes, small government, strong defense, and traditional values. Ask him what liberals stand for and chances are he'll give you the obverse. Conservatives focus on emotions and the character of the speaker; liberals on logic and facts. (A good point - look at most advertising in the U.S.!)

A majority of Americans favor legal abortion, gun control universal healthcare, strong environmental protections, generous Social Security and Medicare benefits. Yet, they are stymied. Part of conservatives' secret is their institutions (eg. American Enterprise Institute, Heritage Foundation, Hoover Institute) are multi-issue and make political use of their products easy (eg. recording studios are available for interviews). Liberals, on the other hand, have single-issue organizations, poorly marketed publications, and poorly paid core staff.

Waldman points out that the South (heavy evangelical concentration) is a major problem for progressives; the problem is acerbated by Republicans use of racism (Reagan - welfare queens, Bush I - Willie Horton, Bush II - going to Bob Jones University with its ban on inter-racial dating, and avoiding a position on the Confederate Flag). Suggests progressives point out Dobson et al don't follow their own teaching regarding the poor, the GOP is guardian of widely unpopular status quo on healthcare (would help business as well), refocusing the abortion debate to "How can we reduce it?" and pointing out it went down under Clinton and up under Bush, support doing away with the Electoral College in the interest of fairness, and attack the notion of "liberal elite" via the GOP's tax cuts for the rich and its healthcare positions. Also suggests not letting Republican attacks go unanswered - eg. Kerry vs. Swift boat ads.

Defining Progressives: "We're all in this together," vs. Conservatives' "We're all on our own and out for ourselves."

Good material.

As a distinguished Doctor of Pyschology, this is an excellent book in analizing the mind of a....nevermind.

"The Biology of violence" by Debra Niehoff is the best book on the subject I have read. I've been through over 300 books in the last three months looking for a neuro-chemical link between aggression and violence, specifically "impulsive" aggression, that from which I have, at times, suffered its unpleasant effects.

Niehoff clearly shows her education and scientific background through her writing. This book is throughougly and adeptly referenced down to the smallest detail. Every sentence informs, every page educates. I learned, for example, about the role of serotonin, the master hormone, and norepinephrine, and how they keep each other in check. One controls aggression, the other fear, both having specific receptors which, it is to be discovered, sometimes receive signals from other neurotransmitters and hormones (and also caffeine!). The role of environmental factors is given a fair and impartial comparison in conjunction with the actions of the body's hormones, increasing Niehoff's conclusion and credibility.

There is far too much information to be absorbed briefly; a detailed study is in order, well worth its rewards. I have found this work to be monumental, and while not solving the total violence problem, will at least lead the reader to make better choices at the root: the diet (foods are converted to make certain hormones and neurotransmitters). Also of interest is the treatment of insulin and its role in the body. A complete, highly informative work, unparalleled in depth and understandability by the educated layperson. Top recommendation!

Even though this book was written ten years ago and since then there have been some tremendous steps forward in our ability to see and map brain function this work more than stands the test of time, and this book still remains an invaluable piece of scholarship for the novice, professional or anyone who is interested in how our brains function and the role biology plays in shaping who we are. This author has written a great book that is very accessible and scholarly. This is just a superb book that tackles a very deep and difficult topic with an engaging writing style and depth of knowledge that brings the reader along effortlessly. Unfortunately there are very few scientists with her expertise that also have the ability to convey that expertise in such a way that is so accessible also.

There have been huge strides in this field since this book was written, but this book is still very much relevant. I have been focusing more on ethology and sociology and was looking for a book that dealt with the biology of human behavior to give myself a more balanced understanding. At first I put off reading this book since it was older but after being disappointed by some other books and hearing some more good things about this book I decided to give it a try, and I could not have been more pleased that I did.

The author explains in great detail how the brain functions and how different chemicals affect different aspects of brain function. This is an area I usually have difficulty with, but the author did a wonderful job linking what the chemicals do biologically to the brain with how that affects behavior. Coming in to this work I had a very superficial understanding of how the brain works but this book greatly enhanced my understanding in a way that was accessible. As she discusses the affects that too little or too much of certain chemicals has on brain function she then takes the reader out of the classroom or laboratory and takes them out into the world and gives us examples of real experiences to further illustrate the affects which brings this work out of the world of the abstract and makes the information real and tangible for reader. It was this connection that made this work so powerful. Whether she is describing the affects of serotonin levels on lab mice, or talking about the affects of PTSD on soldiers or battered women she makes sure there is a very real connection between the academic and scholarly with how that plays out in our ordinary lives.

I was also amazed at how the author was able to limit her work to the biological, and yet at the same time not minimize the affect of experience (nurture). This has been the downfall of many other authors and books because they tend to want to emphasize either nature or nurture while dismissing the other. But not Dr. Niehoff who does a great job at continually emphasizing that while biology plays an important role in who we are we are not slaves to our biology. It is instead a careful balancing act between nature and nurture. It is more like a seesaw with each playing a role in each function to varying degrees. She was able to instill this point in this book without having to broaden her focus which is commendable and quite the achievement at the same time.

This is a great book that is obviously authoritative and scholarly but accessible enough for the novice such as myself. The author has a terrific writing style that makes this book as entertaining as it is enlightening. I truly hope this book doesn't get relegated to the back shelves of science simply because it has gotten a little older because it has a wealth of information that is just as important and relevant today as it was when it was first published. Give this book a read; you will not be disappointed.

This is an excellent book, well written and very intensive for understanding the dynamics involved in aggression. I find this book a primer in anger control and every helping professional must have this one available for their reference.

This is an very good book, when I present evidence from this book in my sociology class it leaves the professor annoyed.

somebody told it like it is...The judicial system is not balanced and it never will be. Thanks judge for telling the truth!

As a New Yorker, I remember Judge Bruce Wright well. He was dubbed: "Cut 'em loose Bruce", because he often released arrested citizens without their having to post bail money. Mr. Wright upheld the law that bail is not to be used as a punishment, but only as a guarantee that the accused party return to court to face the charges against he/she. This infuriated the "powers-that-be". The fact that Judge Wright is a Black man, and many of those who came before him were also Black people, swayed the media to portray his actions as racially motivated, as opposed to his acknowledgement of the law. His book superbly reflects the blatant inequitableness of the criminal justice system and how it is purposely designed to work against Blacks and other people of color. His personal experiences, as a sitting judge, lend great credence to his analogy and conclusions concerning the legal system. Wright fearlessly gives names and elaborates on instances wherein he witnessed and experienced bias in the system. This book is not written in "textbook" fashion, provides some humorous irony and is very informative. Add it to your library.

I'm still reading this book. First time reading a book like this.This is one of the greatest. I recommend this book to be added to your library. It's gives truthful information of the legal system concerning the racism of blacks in the court system.

This book is an eye opener. It give you the truth behind the justice system from the perpective of a Sumpreme Court Judge who exposed the racism in the court system in New York. I never heard of Bruce Wright and happen I purchased this book. I have a lot of respect for the author.

somebody told it like it is...The judicial system is not balanced and it never will be. Thanks judge for telling the truth!

In the late nineteenth century and early twentieth, Williamson County, Illinois became a byword for lawlessness. The county first came to nationwide attention in the 1870s, when a bloody feud, comparable to the worst that the mountains of Kentucky and Tennessee had to offer, wracked the area. Then in the 1920s, the town was beset by union and Ku Klux Klan violence to a shocking degree. Indeed, the rest of the country, and even the rest of the world was appalled at the violence, and the townspeople who condoned it.

This is a wonderfully interesting book. The author does an excellent job of bringing bloody Williamson to life, and showing it in all its lack of glory. This tale of union murderers and KKK hoodlums (often the same people) is sure to shock you, and make you very glad that you didn't live then and there!

I highly recommend this book!

If you are a history buff, you will almost certainly enjoy this book immensely as I did. It tells the incredible but little known story of one of the most violent chapters in U.S. history. In fact, some historians believe that the gangs of Williamson County were the most dangerous and violent gangs in U.S. History. Paul Angle does a wonderful job of telling this fascinating story which covers a period of about 50 years. I was particularly interested in it because my father lived through it. He lived in Marion, Illinois at the time and the Sheriff who plays a large part in the book was the father of his best friend. He also personally witnessed some of the things mentioned in the book. My father is 99 years old now and he still remembers it all clearly. But even without that personal connection to the story of Williamson County, I would have been just as fascinated.

I was amazed when reading the review by Alan Mills. How could someone get the most basic facts presented in the book so wrong? He claims that the mine owner hired thugs who killed the miners when, in fact, the mine owner hired guards and non-union miners to work the mines and the union miners killed them! And the "thugs" did not hang around because they were dead! Also, Williamson is a county not a town. Another reviewer guessed that Alan had just read the back cover but he couldn't have even done that based on his "review."

This is a true gem, which depicts the violent history of a rural southern county in Illinois. The author tells of organized labor, bootleggers, gangs and the KKK of the 1920s in Williamson County, Illinois. Angle writes in any easy format for most readers and his book is well indexed. I would highly recommend this book to all readers!

Mike Koch, author of "The Kimes Gang."

While working near Marion, Illinois (Williamson County) in the winter of 2002 and spring of 2003 I was (at first) completely unaware of the history of the area. Finding that I was a history lover, a co-worker, native to the area, told me about "the troubles" and recommended this book. I quickly decided that Bloody Williamson was one of the better books I had ever read concerning this violent era in American history. While reading the book, I rode over many of the roads and visited as many of the old sites as I could find.

Williamsburg County had an unbelievable amount of violence, in both variety and magnitude, in such a short period of time. In less than fifty years this one county had labor wars, Ku Klux Klan wars, gang wars, and one of the worst feuds in American history. Paul Angle is a good writer, but that is only an added benefit. Reading the media accounts of these events would be fascinating enough. Anyone interested in a case study of a dysfunctional community should read this book.

In the tradition of De Soto, Price and Haar's intro sets the pace while expertly written chapters take a clear-eyed look at Latam's failings. This compact volume deftly lays out the key areas where the region's elected leaders can choose responsibility over victimhood and make large impacts with what often amount to innovative, low-cost policy changes (although certainly the cost of massive infrastructure improvements needed in the region are staggering). Their warning - that what is needed is productivity gains through creativity and innovation - is fresh in light of recent commodity booms, fat public sector budgets, and populist regimes who look to co-opt their constiuents with the illusion of improved living standards.

If the next President of the USA read this book, they would not be talking about building walls or blaming NAFTA for job losses in the Rust Belt - what nonsense after you read how Mexico and others have been losing jobs in the face of globalization. The next President should be working to solve these challenges to make our hemisphere more competitive than the rest of the world.

This work provides a comprehensive examination of the region's competitive environment. John Price and Jerry Haar's prescient introduction probes the confluence of challenges that these societies will face in the coming years. As editors, they have wisely compiled contributions from twenty-one renowned experts who examine quantitative data and evaluate political, institutional and economic forces that shape Latin America at present. This selection of researched essays provides a thorough analytical review of the processes that will be required for successful competition.

Can Latin America Compete? is invaluable for anyone doing business in Latin America today, and it is indispensible reading for those engaged in research, study and policy making. John Price and Jerry Haar and their contributors, possess a unique and valuable knowledge and exceptional perspective. This reader is satisfied to conclude, as they do, that Latin America is an immense territory of possibilities to be discovered.

This is a great book for anyone seeking a lucid perspective of the challenges faced by Latin America in its ongoing quest for capital, technology and a better life for its people. Although Latin America is a vast region, the book addresses the principle drivers of economic growth that must be addressed if the region is to overcome its dependency on boom-and-bust commodities. I particularly enjoyed the authors' comparison of diverse nations as a way of developing general observations about the region as a whole. For those who know little about the deep impact of globalization on Latin America's development, this is a great place to start. For those who have read widely, this is an invaluable summary and an essential addition to their Latin American libraries.

This book intellectually provokes policy makers
and business people to seriously think about
chances and choices for Latin America to compete
in a global economy. Haar and Price present in
elegant and action oriented ways ,the vital
issues to robustly understand and design the
policies and business strategies for Latin
America to become a relevant player in a
knowledge society

This excellent book adds to the growing voices of those who see vast opportunities for economic success in Latin America but are frustrated by the pace of positive change to improve competitiveness. The authors clearly lay out the challenges, using well-written text and quality data. Many of the issues they analyze have been around for years under the rubric of "second generation reforms." As Patricio Navia and Andres Velasco note in a 2003 publication of the Institute for International Economics, "Second generation reforms are a motley crew, encompassing broad reforms of the state, the civil service, and delivery of public services; of the institutions that create and maintain human capital (e.g. schools and the health care system); and the environment in which private sector firms operate (more competition, better regulation, stronger property rights.) This book updates Latin America's uneven progress in carrying out these reforms and highlights the urgency of getting on with them as competition in the global market place increases. An excellent addition to this important policy debate.

I very rarely review more than one book by the same author, but in this case it is absolutely justified.

In the 1960s the Club of Rome was one of the first organizations to declare that there were "limits to growth." Today that seems so obvious, but then the very idea stirred up a hornet's nest of opposition.

There are still plenty of people who are convinced that either there is no problem, or that we are going to innovate our way out of any potential difficulties.

Many other experts are now of the opinion that we have left everything too late, and that we are on an inevitable downward path toward oblivion.

In Ervin Laszlo's new book, he acknowledges the seriousness of our situation, but is one of the hardy band of pioneers who see the problems as a "decision window" where we face not only the danger of total global collapse, but also the opportunity for renewal of the world.

We all of us need to change the way in which we see the world and then to take action.

Or else we shall probably not be here that much longer.

This message is indeed very positive.

According to the author, we just need to wake up. And this book outlines a precise map for doing exactly that.

Highly recommended.

Laszlo claims we are just now moving beyond the Iron Age and what comes next is not clear. The worse things get, however, the more people will work for improvement. What we need is general agreement that all should live "in a way that allows all other people to live as well." Unbridled consumption is the way to global destruction. Like David Korten (The Great Turning), Laszlo optimistically looks to all those who meditate, eat wisely, recycle, etc. as the vanguard of the new age.

THE CHAOS POINT: THE WORLD AT THE CROSSROADS predicts we have seven years to avoid global collapse and promote strategies for renewal - and tells how the modern world will change in that period of time. Chapters maintain we're at a critical junction in history and comes from the founder of systems philosophy and general evolution theory: THE CHAOS POINT builds upon his principles and surveys trends, how to head them off, and how to build a more sustainable world.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

I found this book to be profoundly important for all to read at this time in history. It is a true wake-up call to everyone, certainly in the U.S., but also for the whole planet. A must read.

This is a well written book by an author with an outstanding international reputation. The condition of the earth and human culture today is at a critical crossroad. Conditions may either get better for most of the people on the planet or they may become so bad that human life here may be destroyed.

This book should receive world wide publicity with encouragement for as many people as possible to read it. Then we need to insist that our leaders begin immediately to take steps to choose the best action for the welfare of all humans and our planet.

Mark Sophir's terrific debut book is one I'd wish I'd written. His musings on life are both witty and insightful. It's great fun. At the end of the day, he wants everyone to take a break, relax and stop looking for ill will and start being reasonable.

The book is a series of short commentaries on various topics, sort of Thomas Freedman meets Jerry Seinfeld. Mr. Sophir wants his book to be taken seriously, but you can tell he doesn't take himself too seriously.

While it is not a sports book, my favorite chapter was the one on Curt Flood, who must've been the author's favorite player growing up. He reminds us of Flood's valuable contribution to the player's movement (although at an average salary of over 2 million I think even Flood might agree things have gone too far) as well as what a terrific ballplayer he was.

And then he's off again, ruminating on why women are the better sex and how TV ads are overrated.

It's a fun read and I guarantee you that you'll find several chapters that will be the basis of tomorrow's lunch conversation.

What a hoot! I laughed out loud! He put into words, the things that I have often thought about. It was a quick read and I enjoyed it quite a bit.

This book proves you are not alone if you find yourself questioning some of the ways in which our civilization has evolved. Writing with an ascerbic wit and a keen eye for the ridiculous, Sophir manages to find humor in some of the more frustrating aspects of the human condition while providing a more enlightened way of thinking about a multitude of issues facing us. I found myself nodding in agreement with a lot of the opinions expressed in this book (e.g., Sophir's descriptions of "our most annoying citizens" and his views on some of the issues dear to social conservatives), and enjoyed his razor-sharp sense of humor. I particularly liked the chapters on baseball, which are full of amusing anecdotes that make great cocktail conversation. A fun, quick read!

This is a humorous look at the many irrational aspects of contemporary
American life. The author, Mark Sophir, explores the themes of politics,
human and animal behavior, baseball, money, as well as gender issues,
with satire and jocularity. It is a fast read, and one that stays around,
as I play with his ideas, many that I agree with and some that are new
to me, in my brain.

Sophir's "A Common Sense Enema" is a quick read that will have you laughing/hooting out loud over his irreverent and quite funny observations on current life in the USA. The book is a must for anyone who enjoys discussing the state of our country, sports and the often bizarre way the public's attitudes are formed. Well articulated and researched, Sophir presents his unique views on familiar topics in a balanced way that should bring "aha" moments to many readers. Sophir's observations reminded me of Dave Barry or Al Franken, in terms of his wit and dry sense of humor.

As we prepared for our oldest daughter's amputaion, I searched for something to help guide us along as a family. This work book is wonderful. Although my daughter was emotionally ready for her loss, Rick Ritter was able to better address some of what we may have missed prior to her surgery. I strongly recomend this book for anyone dealing with physical loss them selves or that of a loved one. Joi Warburton, Las Vegas, NV

After reading the other reviews I purchased this book. I have a degenerative muscle disease for which there is no treatment. Although I have coped fairly well up to this point, I was finding myself more and more isolated. As I answered the questions, I felt it would be better if I were going through this process with a professional. I answered as fully as I was able, but there doesn't seem to be any suggestions as to what to do with this information. The book suggests that you share your answers with three people. In my case that wasn't possible.I can see that it would be useful in conjunction with therapy. Without that professional input, the book left me hanging.

Reviewed by Christina Gonzalez, LMHC for Reader Views (5/06)

The author starts this very unique workbook with a compelling quote from Christopher Reeve, "So many of our dreams at first seem impossible, then they seem improbable, and then, when we summon the will, they soon become inevitable". This book is a way to help those who have found their dreams become impossible, find new ways to restructure their life, their ways of thinking and their ways of being in order to find ways to help their dreams become inevitable.

This book is oriented towards those who have experienced some type of a physical loss, whether from a disability, accident or including serious, chronic illnesses and pain. His examples range from people who have suffered knee injuries to quadriplegics, to individuals who have undergone a mastectomy from breast cancer to debilitating illnesses like muscular dystrophy. I would see value for individuals with ANY chronic health condition benefiting enormously from this book.

The author suggests that individuals who use this book consult with at least three people in their lives with whom they can share the results of the exercises which is very wise. The author takes the reader through a series of written exercises and anecdotes through six main chapters: Past and Future, Self Care and Support, Dealing with Loss: Feelings and Beliefs, Understanding Disability, Transforming Circumstance, and The Ongoing Process of Loss and Recovery. Each of these remain only questions and words on paper until the reader takes these questions and looks into their lives and then shares them with another.

As a therapist I will be recommending this book to my clients who are struggling with any chronic health issues. I would love to use this workbook with my clients in their therapy as well as suggest they share the information obtained about themselves with others in their lives. The author includes some excellent exercises to help the reader determine what people in their lives might be supportive to this process of recovery from physical loss and/or any chronic health condition.

The appendices include some excellent resources regarding therapeutic techniques and alternatives, suggested reading for coping with loss and disability, films on issues related to physical loss and disability, guidelines for watching films, and a listing of organizations and other resources that can help individuals coping with loss and disability.

As the mother of a child with Cerebral Palsy and as a psychotherapist myself, I found this book to be highly valuable for people dealing with any type of physical loss. As I mentioned above, just buying the book will not do anything. Filling out the exercises will help, but will not make a huge change. Filling out the exercise, following the author on the journey that he is leading the reader on and sharing with those close to the reader will make a great deal of difference. Some of the exercises I found helpful for those suffering from debilitating mental or emotional illnesses and even less acute health conditions such as asthma or others. This book is highly recommended to any individual who has suffered a physical loss and is still struggling to find their dreams. It would make a great gift from a supportive loved one who is also willing to make a stand to be there with the reader as they go through these exercises, and it would make an excellent aid to an individual who is currently seeing a therapist. I would not recommend this to someone who just wants to do the exercises randomly, haphazardly or in order to just keep their answers to themselves and not share them with another.

Rick Ritter, MSW, has created an easy-to-use resource to help people confront a life-changing illness or disability. He could simply give good advice, relying upon his experiences as a disabled veteran, a social worker, and a competitor in events for disabled athletes. Instead, he engages the reader in answering questions, gathering support, finding resources, and taking a completely positive approach to difficult situations.

I love the workbook format, because it forces the reader to begin thinking about and acting upon ways to continue with a life that has become altered. Of course, altered doesn't mean over. It just means different. Ritter avoids sugar-coating those differences or the emotional, social, and physical problems that accompany them. However, he ultimately provokes the reader into finding ways to deal with those obstacles.

Ritter ends with a brief but inspiring look at his life, followed by a variety of resources. I suggest his workbook as a great beginning for anyone facing physical loss or disability.

Rick Ritter has written a superb self-help workbook that will benefit readers who have suffered a physical loss or disability. Ritter has included 50 questions to be answered by the reader. He recommends these answers be shared with at least three other people. In responding to these questions, the reader is able to reflect on his or her disability or physical loss. The book engages the reader in discovering ways to deal with their physical loss. To those readers who have experienced such a loss, the workbook will provide a sense of empowerment to those still in grief or depression.

Ritter himself has experienced his own disability. As a social worker(MSW), he has had the opportunity to work with 100 people who have suffered a physical loss or disability. His workbook provides a roadmap for readers to follow to reach attainable goals.

Also included are interesting short stories of people he has worked with ranging from amputation, breast cancer, muscular dystrophy, AIDS, Multiple Sclerosis, and quadriplegia. He recounts how these people were able to cope with their loss.

Having a disability or having suffered a physical loss doesn't necessarily lead to unhappiness. How one responds to that loss is what really matters. Rick also uses spirituality, support systems, and holistic methods as an approach to coping with the loss. Resiliency is crucial in facing any loss or disability.

As a mother of a son with cerebral palsy, I can see how this workbook could be very useful. He is now a happy young man working as an attorney. His disability didn't stop him from being productive. Also, having battled my own muscle disease along with rheumatoid arthritis, I found it helpful. As the daughter of a mother transfused with HIV contaminated blood, I can see how this workbook could have benefited her.

The resources included at the end of his book are certainly a bonus. He has listed helpful organizations, suggested reading, and films relating to physical loss and disability.

Rick Ritter has given his readers a wonderful gift. "Coping with Physical Loss and Disability" is an empowering book that will benefit many readers. I highly recommend this workbook. Thank you, Rick for caring. Your workbook will be appreciated by many people.

Nancy A. Draper (Author) A Burden of Silence: My Mother's Battle with AIDS

Makiya is not a Zionist or a Neo-Con, so it's hard for the Manichean anti-Americans to demonize his evidence and arguments against the totalitarian-drooling status quo in the Middle East. In the first half off the book, he relays heart-breaking anecdotes about sons unable to kiss their dying mothers after a chemical attack, children raped in front of their parents, prisoners forced to drink gasoline and shot so that they would explode, children surviving mass grave shooting, all in that "noble" Arab Gov't known as Saddam Hussein's Iraq.

The second half of the book is a scathing indictment of the Edward Saids and Noam Chomskys of the world who rationalize the inhumanity all too prevalent in the Mid-East, specifically in Iraq, "Saddam was a victim, The U.S. is worse, Saddam's strong!" and all that junk. Because Makiya isn't a GOP Zionist, these criticisms are particularly strong and persuasive. The book is a much needed call on the part of Arabs and Muslims to adopt a Liberty-based morality instead of a relativistic, ethnic allegience based morality. A good book for all to read.

As an arab-american familiar with the brutal insanity of Saddam Hussein's regime, I've always been puzzled by the Arab talking heads who routinely criticize the U.S. for it's targetting of Iraq. Makiya's writing was instrumental in helping me understand this in somewhat deeper terms than simple anti-americanism, though his insightful and revealing writing has only heightened my frustration.

Regarding the current political climate: You can certainly question the U.S.'s motives, but if you find yourself struggling to find "smoking guns" vis-a-vis terrorism and WMDs to ethically support replacing Saddam's regime, look no further than this book.

Beautifully written; there are points at which you will literally be moved to tears.

Now that the American government is controlling Saddam's infamous Abu Ghraib/Ghurayb prison, the site of many atrocities like those described in Cruelty and Silence, we owe it to ourselves to study the crimes against humanity that were perpetrated there. Arguments about whether the old death chamber should be destroyed or maintained for future generations go without much notice in the United States, as do the reports of ongoing investigations to insure we follow legal guidelines in handling the prisoners we now hold at Abu Ghraib. We owe it to ourselves to operate this facility in a manner which testifies to our philosophy and way of life. And when we question ourselves, the cause in Iraq, the price we pay, the chances of success, we should understand the nature of the vicious regime which created the dysfunctional and factionalized Iraqi society we see today. Cruelty and Silence helps us develop a long-term perspective to the challenges ahead.

This is one of the best books I have read all year. Ten years old, it is still agonisingly relevant. In its bearing witness to human cruelty, human indifference but also human courage, it is as unflinching, as passionate and as magnificent as the works of Primo Levi. Beautifully written, meticulously observed, focussed on people, not abstractions, it is a book that haunts me and will continue to do so for a long time to come. If you have any doubts at all about the rightness of invading Iraq, read this book. There will be no doubts left, only a terrible regret that the ousting of the Saddam regime was not done long, long ago.

Makiya achieves two goals in this 1993 book: he details the "rising curve of cruetly" in Iraq under the rule of Saddam Husein and more broadly throughout the Arab world, and he castigates Arab intellectuals for their silence on this topic.

Even though it is 13 years old, this book is highly relevant today for people trying to understand the middle east. Makiya warns that "Sunni-Shi'i hatred is today [in 1993] the most virulent potential source of new violence," thus accurately predicting Iraq's current quandry. Iraq's Sunni minority will "fight to the bitter end before allowing anything that so much as smells of an Islamic reupblic to be established in Iraq. They see in such a state -- whether rightly or wrongly is irrelevant -- their own annihilation." I wonder if the Bush administration was aware of this viewpoint as it planned the invasion of Iraq.

The book tackles the topic of cruetly through several first-person accounts, including a survivor of the Iraqi occupation of Kuwait, an Iraqi arrested and interrogated by the secret police, and Kurdish witnesses to chemical attacks and mass deportations and shootings. The reader learns about the anarchy of the intifada, the brief and unsuccessful uprising against Saddam in the aftermath of the 1991 Gulf War, where rebels resorted to wanton vengence-killing, and the returning security forces were paid cash bonuses for killing Shi'i males. Based on documents captured by Kurdish fighters, Makiya analyzes the efforts of the Iraqi regime to eliminate the Kurdish independence movement as a threat to B'athist hegemony, an operation code-named "Al-Anfal," a reference from the Koran to parceling out the spoils of war, which appears to have involved the razing of thousands of villages, as well as the killing of 100,000 non-combatants. The author also touches on violence against women, a widespread problem in the mid-east, and apparently a tactic that the Iraqi regime institutionalized as a strategy for dishonoring entire families.

On their own, these stories are chilling, just like other historical accounts of terror and genocide. They are even more disturbing when one stops to consider the implications for peace and prosperity in the middle east today. Makiya notes that the "terrible force of memory...tends always to sow dragons' teeth in the shape of the children and survivors of the dead," and he warns that the legacy of Saddam Husain for Iraq may be a continuation of violence, terror, cruelty, and silence.

In the second part of the book, Makiya takes Arab intellectuals to task for their support of Saddam during the Gulf War and for their wilful ignoring of the violence and terror that characterized his regime and that are all too prevalent throughout the middle east. Ideologies based on cultural nationalism, which ignore the importance of human rights, are "morally bankrupt," in Makiya's view. I found his arguments persuasive, although to be fair I have not read the writings of those he criticizes.